Be careful what you do in your spare time - you may just become good at it.

While most of his early career was spent writing code, Mr Murphy has since morphed into a nationally recognized, award-winning speaker, author, and game designer. He is the founder of GiGi Games and the Technical Director for Alion's AMSTO operation.

Mr. Murphy researches game design, communication, and psychology. His consulting helps team communicate more effective, helps designers build better games, and helps guide aspiring game developers through the thickets of their early careers. He is the principle investigator for the Safe Surgery Training game and was the lead designer for the Navy's Damage Control Trainer - winner of 3 national awards. He is a frequent speaker at gaming and simulation conferences and attempts to bridge the gaps between the modeling and simulation, instruction, and entertainment gaming industries.

He recently finished a one-year research fellowship at Eastern Virginia Medical School, where he worked to change healthcare with games.

'Seven Constants of Game Design' was a catchy title, until I realized it was yet another compilation of inactionable, half-baked pet theories. In the spirit of Tonya Short's "Share Your Crayons" challenge, here's my response.

When our artist backed out, we were in a jam. So, my wife offered to do it, and I said, 'I didn't know you could draw.' She replied, 'I can't.' And now, 10 months later, her work is seen by thousands. Deliberate practice is rarely this easy to see.

Do you remember Roger Ebert? That jovial father figure from the Siskel and Ebert movie show. Sometimes, Mr Ebert talks about stuff other than movies. For instance, he wrote, 'Video Games Can Never Be Art'. But I never really gave it much thought, until...